Correct me if I'm wrong but you guys are assuming it is a virus or infection, which I have understood it is not.
The Tuurngait were ancient spirits who flew into people and possessed them. The whispers were caused by the Tuurngait spirits being nearby (when at the artifacts, when Spider Hater was killed etc.). So when Philip first entered the mine the whispers were caused by some Tuurngait checking him out.
Later in the game Clarence (seemingly by accident) possessed Philip and started manipulating his senses. Endgame you find a chemical cure which rejects some sort of virus though, but I'm guessing the virus if existent is a by product after infection (rather than something that infects a person and then escalates into a Tuurngait possession). It's also possible that the antidote rejects spirits (possibly made from one of the around 80 "substances" mentioned and unmentioned) and doesn't at all neutralize a virus.
That's what I think anyways.

(01-01-2009 06:33 PM)Kedjane Wrote: Correct me if I'm wrong but you guys are assuming it is a virus or infection, which I have understood it is not.
The Tuurngait were ancient spirits who flew into people and possessed them. The whispers were caused by the Tuurngait spirits being nearby (when at the artifacts, when Spider Hater was killed etc.). So when Philip first entered the mine the whispers were caused by some Tuurngait checking him out.
Later in the game Clarence (seemingly by accident) possessed Philip and started manipulating his senses. Endgame you find a chemical cure which rejects some sort of virus though, but I'm guessing the virus if existent is a by product after infection (rather than something that infects a person and then escalates into a Tuurngait possession). It's also possible that the antidote rejects spirits (possibly made from one of the around 80 "substances" mentioned and unmentioned) and doesn't at all neutralize a virus.
That's what I think anyways.

(01-01-2009 10:37 PM)jamhaw Wrote: I thought that they hive minded aliens like the zerg.

They are, though just like the Zerg they are not perfectly hiveminded. Like Kerrigan breaks free from the Zerg Hivemind Clarence must have broken free from the other Tuurngait. In the end he the other Tuurngait destroyed him for his treason.

(01-01-2009 10:37 PM)jamhaw Wrote: I thought that they hive minded aliens like the zerg.

They are, though just like the Zerg they are not perfectly hiveminded. Like Kerrigan breaks free from the Zerg Hivemind Clarence must have broken free from the other Tuurngait. In the end he the other Tuurngait destroyed him for his treason.

(01-04-2009 04:06 AM)jamhaw Wrote: That part about the ancient spirits was what confused me.

Ah, they are hiveminded spirits perhaps?
The hivemind always goes on about how they are many but still one. So I'm guessing they are some sort of ancient spirits (who were named "bad" by the Inuit, even if they were somewhat friendly to Philip) who all are as one. Until Clarence broke free.
Either that or I'm completely wrong and they are some sort of physical parasite and cause the illusions, the mind journey at the end and all that by manipulating Philips mind. The "telepathy" could be by sending out chemicals people can't detect into the air and communicating. But I've never looked too far into that theory as a lot of things seem a bit too supernatural to have an explanation (even though Jens or Thomas said they would make a completely "realistic" game some time around the release of Overture) in my opinion.